Collapsible ironing board



April 10, 1951 CONDAK COLLAPSIBLE IRONING BOARD 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 12, 1948 INVENTOR. WW bu BY ATTORNEYS April 10, 1951 E. CONDAK COLLAPSIBLE IRONING BOARD Filed July 12, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Y Patented Apr. 10, 1951 COLLAPSIBLE IRONING BOARD Edward Cond'ak, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Mardigian Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application July 12, 1948, Serial No. 38,239

6 Claims.

This invention relates to an ironing board and more particularly to an ironing board of the collapsible type.

This invention contemplates an ironing board of the type wherein the support legs can be readily folded up against the ironing board when the board is not in use and stored away and which legs can be readily unfolded and securely locked in set up position so that the board is stable and will not collapse during use.

' Fig. 1 is a top plan view showing my board.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is an end view looking from the right of Fi 2.

Fig. 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a section along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detail of the safety bolt for locking the board in open or set up position.

My ironing board can be made from any suitable material such as metal or wood but is preferably made of steel with all themoving parts pivoted together by rivets.

My ironing board comprises a sheet steel top i provided with a multiplicity of perforations 2 which provide for the escape of steam during the ironing operation. Transverse channel reinforcements 3 and 4 are welded to the under face of top I and top I is reinforced also by longitudinal channel reinforcements 5 and 5 which are welded or otherwise affixed to the under face of top I, the one channel reinforcement 5 extending between transverse channels 3 and 4 and the other extending from transverse channel 3 forward to the narrow end I of the top. TopI is provided with a circumferential reinforcing flange 8 with a round bead at the end of the flange. Top I is supported by a single front leg 9 and two rear legs Ill. Leg 9 is of channel section, legs III are of L section.

Leg 9 is pivotally supported on tabs struck out of the bottom wall of channel 3, by means of rivets I2 which pass through the side walls I3 of leg 9. Legs II! are pivotally secured to tabs I4 struck out of the bottom wall of channel 4 by rivets I 5. Braces I5 are pivotally secured at their forward ends by rivets I I to the side walls I3 of leg 9 and the rear ends of braces I6 are pivotally secured to legs III by rivets I9.

A locking brace 20 in the form of a U rod has its ends pivoted to the side walls I3 of leg 9 by rivets 2| and the bight portion 22 of locking brace 20 passes through parallel similar slots 23 inthe side walls 24 of longitudinal channel 6. Each slot 23 comprises an elongate straight portion terminating In a notch 25 at its end nearest cross brace 3. Notch 25 is inclined downwardly and toward narrow end I of top I. A leaf'or wire spring 26 has one end fixed in the bight portion 22 of brace-20 as at 21. Spring 26 is under tension at all-times and tends to move or bias b'ight portion 22 of brace20 downwardly away from top I and toward the bottom of channel 5. The free end 28 of spring 26 slides in channel 6 against the under face of top I.

- A pair of links 29are each pivoted at one end by rivets I5 to the inside face of tabs I4, legs ID ,sition and against the underside of board I.

being pivoted to the outer faces of tabs I4. The other end of links 29 are pivotally secured by a pin Bil-to the free ends of links 3| which are pivoted by rivets 32 to the opposite side walls. I3 of channel leg 9. Links 3| and the side walls I3 of leg 9 are provided with holes 33 which are aligned when the ironing board is set up so that a locking bolt 34 can be passed through the holes 33 to positively lock links 3| to side walls I3 thereby preventing any pivoting of links 3| on rivets 32 and positively locking the legs in set up or open position. Locking bolt 34 can be secured by chain 35 to pin 30. I

As shown in the full lines, Figs. 2, 3 and 5, the board is set up or in open position. At this time the bight portion 22 of brace ZB-is held in interlocked engagement with notches 25 by spring 2t and lock bolt 30 has interlocked braced links 3| and leg 9 so that the board cannot collapse.

To collapse the board, safety bolt 3!] is withdrawn from openings 33 .in side walls I3 and links 3| and the bight portion 22 of brace is drawn upwardly toward the under face of board and out of notch so that leg 9 can be swung clockwise, Fig. 2, upwardly through the dotted line po- As leg 9 is drawn up against the underside of board I, braces I6 simultaneously draw legs I3 upwardly against the underside of board I and the bight portion 22 slides along the straightaway portion of slots 23and the spring 26 slides along the underside of board within channel 3.

It will be noted that the length of link 29, that is, the distance between pivots I5 and 33, plus the distance between pivots and 32 is equal to the distance between pivots I2 and I5 plus the distance between pivots I2 and 32. This relationship between the pivots is necessary to permit collapsing of leg 9 and links 29 and 3| upwardly against the underside of top I.

I claim:

1. A collapsible ironing board comprising a top, a front leg pivotally attached to the top to swing about a transverse axis located between underside of the top between said first mentioned axis and the other end of the top, said guide means having a guideway therein extending longitudinally of the top and terminating in a downwardly extending notch at the end of the guideway closest to the pivot for the front leg, said brace having a transverse portion which slides in said guideway and interengages the notch to hold the legs in open position, and spring means cooperating with said brace for biasing the same into interengagement with said notch.

2. The'ironing board claimed in claim 1 wherein the spring means comprises a longitudinally flexible spring fixed at one end to the transverse portion of the brace and the other end of which slides along the underside of said top.

3. The ironing board claimed in claim 2 wherein the guide means comprises a channel fixed to the underside of the top and extending-longitudinally thereof and having an elongate slot in a side wall thereof in which the transverse .portion of the brace slides, the spring being mounted between the channel and the 'underside of the top, said downwardly extending notch being inclined awayfrom the pivot for the front leg in a direction substantially perpendicular to said brace when engaged in said notch.

4. A collapsible ironing board comprising a top, a pair of front and rear parallel transverse channel reinforcements fixed to the under face of said board and a longitudinally extending channel reinforcement secured to the underside of the board and extending between the front end of the board and said front transverse reinforcement, a front leg pivotally attached to the front transverse reinforcement to swing about a transverse axis located between the ends of the top, a pair of rear legs pivotally attached to the rear transverse reinforcement for swinging about a transverse axis positioned adjacent the rear end of the top, a .pair of braces 'pivoted to the front leg and to the rear legs, a brace pivoted to the front leg and extending upwardly toward the top, said longitudinal channel reinforcement having an elongated slot in at least one of its side walls extending substantially parallel to the top and terminating in a downwardly extending notch at the end of the slot closest to the pivot for the front leg, said brace having a transverse portion which slides in said slot and interengages the notch to hold the legs in open position, and spring means cooperating with said brace for biasing the same into engagement with said notch, said downwardly extending notch being inclined away from the pivot for the front leg in a direction substantially perpendicular to said brace when engaged in said notch.

5. The ironing board claimed in claim 4 wherein the spring means comprises a longitudinally flexible spring slidably positioned within the longitudinal channel and having one end fixed to the bight portion of the brace and biasing said bight portion downwardly toward said notches.

6. The ironing board claimed in claim 5 including a short and a long link, the long link being pivoted at one end to the short link and at the other end to the rear transverse channel, the short link being pivoted at one end to the long link and at the other end to the front leg, the total length of the said pair of links between their points of pivoting being equal to the sum of the distances between the points of pivoting of the front and rear legs and between the pivot for the front leg and the pivot for the short link whereby the links can fold along with the legs to a position along the underside of said top, said short link and front leg being provided with openings which coincide when the legs are unfolded to the open position, and a bolt for interengaging said short link and front leg in said openings to positively lock the same against collapsing.

EDWARD CONDAK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 605,370 Adams June 7, 1898 2,128,209 Johannsen Aug. 23, 1938 2,198,607 Flagstad Apr. 30, 1940 2,425,810 Keller Aug. 19, 1947 

